Year in Review: For the last four years, Hernandez has been a strikeout machine... in the minor leagues. Seriously, look at these numbers: 2006: 145.1 IP, 154 K (Low-A), 2007: 145.1 IP, 168 K (High-A), 2008: 141.0 IP, 166 K (Double-A), 2009: 57.1 IP, 79 K (Triple-A). That's the good news. The bad news is that, after getting called up at the end of May, Hernandez was considerably more hittable, posting a 6.04 K/9 in 101.1 IP – decent, but not excellent. Combine that with 4.09 walks per nine, a 28.9% fly-ball rate, and a 14.8% HR/FB rate and the results are unspectacular: a 4-10 win-loss record, 5.42 ERA, and (ugh) a 6.61 FIP.

The Year Ahead: There's a possibility that Hernandez's poor major league performance isn't a fluke. Despite his crazy minor league strikeout numbers, scouts have never been too keen on him – if for no other reason than because he lacks a real third pitch. That analysis was borne out in his debut. Hernandez's two most frequent deliveries, fastball and slider, were worth -0.78 and -1.67 runs per 100 by linear weights. His change-up, though, which he threw third-most often (13.3% of the time), was even worse at -2.76 per 100. The big question for 2010 is: Will he rebound at the MLB level and stick in the rotation, or is it just a matter of time before Hernandez gets relegated to the bullpen? Regardless of the answer, Hernandez isn't worth a draft pick. If he starts whiffing eight as opposed to six guys per nine and gets his ground-ball rate above 30% – that's the time to consider him. (Carson Cistulli)

Profile: Arizona's bullpen was historically bad in 2010, and new GM Kevin Towers went on a mission to rebuild it over the winter. One of the new additions is Hernandez, who came over from the Orioles in the Mark Reynolds swap. The 25-year-old's strikeout rate jumped up to 10.9 per nine innings after moving into relief last year (5.7 K/9 as a starter), which is right in line with his 10.4 minor-league K/9. Hernandez is an extreme fly-ball pitcher (71.5% non-ground balls in his short ML career) moving into a homer-friendly park, so that will present some problems. He's shown the ability to keep the walks down to a respectable level in the past but, regardless, his fantasy value is limited because J.J. Putz is the Diamondbacks' new closer. The good news is that Putz has dealt with nagging injuries in the last few years, so Hernandez could see some save opportunities come his way at some point during the summer. Until then, he's not much more than a guy you keep in the back of your mind in non-holds leagues. (Mike Axisa)

The Quick Opinion: Hernandez is a strikeout-heavy middle reliever with fly-ball tendencies moving into a homer-happy park, so his value is limited until some save opportunities come his way. That's a tall order with J.J. Putz holding down the ninth inning in Arizona.

Profile: In his first full season in the bullpen, Hernandez was pretty solid, striking out 77 batters in 69.1 innings and posting a 3.13 SIERA. His control was improved a bit from past seasons, but still below average. With that excellent strikeout rate, though, his walk rate was acceptable. Hernandez is an extreme fly ball pitcher, but he managed to allow just four home runs last year, yielding just a 4.9% home run per fly ball ratio. That mark is likely to rise, along with the .253 batting average on balls in play he posted, but his SIERA suggests that he actually was unlucky this season on the whole. That may be because of his league average strand rate, which should probably have been higher given the big strikeout rate. He remains a solid backup plan for J.J. Putz and has shown he could get the job done in the ninth inning. (Mike Podhorzer)

The Quick Opinion: Another injury to J.J. Putz is what it will take to give Hernandez another shot at closing, but even if that doesn’t happen, his strikeout ability gives him some value in deeper leagues.

Profile: Yes, J.J. Putz will once again hold down the ninth inning in the desert, but that doesn’t mean David Hernandez should remain unowned in your fantasy league. Through his age 26, 27 and 28 seasons, Hernandez progressively missed more bats (10.0, 11.1, 14.1 swinging strike rates respectively) resulting in an increase in strikeouts per nine (8.17, 10.00, 12.91 respectively). Additionally, over the same time frame, the righty reduced his free passes allowed (4.76, 3.89, 2.90 walk rates) aiding the decrease of his WHIP (1.44, 1.14, 1.02), which could also have been useful to your fantasy squad. Looks like he's taken to the pen. The 23 and 25 holds Hernandez converted over the last two seasons may take a hit in 2013 due to the addition of Heath Bell, but each of the previous statistical improvements he’s made over the last three season makes him worth a late-round pick. And then there are the handful of saves he'll accrue when Putz takes his annual two-week break. (Alan Harrison)

The Quick Opinion: Since joining the Diamondbacks in 2011, David Hernandez has evolved into one of the most elite relievers in baseball and deserves your attention in relatively all fantasy league formats.

Profile: After a career year in 2012, Hernandez struggled mightily last season as his both his walk and strikeout rates regressed while he saw a significant spike in the number of home runs allowed. Things got so bad for him that the Diamondbacks opted to send him down to Triple-A Reno in order to fix his mechanics and hopefully get him back into his 2012 form. Whatever it was they did to him down on the farm, it worked as he returned in September and allowed just one run over 14 innings. Once considered a potential closer, Hernandez will remain in middle relief with the team's acquisition of Addison Reed and his fantasy value will remain just as it's always been. If he can continue to pitch well, he'll be an excellent source for holds and could see the occasional save opportunity. (Howard Bender)

The Quick Opinion: Hernandez followed up his 2012 breakout campaign with a season of struggles in 2013 and he looked nothing like the pitcher he was the year before. A trip to the minors seemed to right the ship, but not enough to prevent the team from acquiring Addison Reed to handle closing duties for the team in 2014. Hernandez will continue his role as the team's right-handed set-up man and should be a solid source for holds and possibly even the occasional save.

Profile: David Hernandez has been a pretty good reliever for the Diamondbacks in the past, but he's coming off an injury year that followed a down year. It's not fair to expect he'll return to his peak form, but he is only just now 30 years old and even in his recent bad year, he was still missing bats and limiting walks. His ability to induce week contact and create a lot of shallow fly balls has also been a key component in his success. It may be a bit early to pencil Hernandez into your bullpen as a good source for holds and strikeouts, but he is worth considering on the waiver wire when he returns mid season. Odds are, if his velocity is fine, and his swinging strike rate is around 12% and he's healthy, he could be a solid late-season addition to your roster. Both of those stats stabilize quickly and will tell you a lot about how Hernandez is feeling. (Bradley Woodrum)

The Quick Opinion: Hernandez is overcoming more than just his recent Tommy John surgery in his bid to reclaim the setup role in Arizona. He also has to contend with his poor performance in the 2013 season, his last year of action. Under the surface, though, Hernandez still looked like a good pitcher then. That makes him worth watching closely when he returns to action in June or July.

Profile: After two down seasons, Hernandez finds himself in Philadelphia. And after the Ken Giles trade, he also finds himself as the favorite to take over closing duties. A solid reliever with Arizona for several seasons, Hernandez changed his approach somewhat in 2015 when he attacked the zone much more. This resulted in fewer strikeouts, more contact, and more ground balls, which he’s able to induce with his fourseam fastball. The new approach didn’t have quite the desired effect in year one, as batters made the increased contact count. Hernandez allowed career highs in home run rate, batting average on balls in play, and WHIP. Assuming those rates slip back closer to his career figures, Hernandez could be a bargain since his reduced strikeout rate was still a serviceable 22.9%. The altered approach did not change his results vs. lefties, against whom he’s consistently been worse in his career. The main thing boosting his value is Philadelphia’s roster and the lack of viable closing options behind him. That should buy him some time if he has a bad outing or two in April. He’s also working for a non-contending team on a one-year deal, meaning the Phillies could be motivated to keep feeding him save opportunities to boost his trade value. (Adam McFadden)

The Quick Opinion: Hernandez looks like an average pitcher in the position to get saves, without much competition behind him. He can succeed by either following 2015’s path to more ground balls, helping to limit damage, or getting back to his old ways with a few more strikeouts.

Profile: It's probably time to realize that Hernandez circa 2012 is gone. The former standout Diamondbacks reliever was "OK" in his first season in Philadelphia, but "OK" is probably not something terribly useful to either the Phillies or fantasy rosters. Hernandez saw a slight uptick in both his strikeout and walk rates in 2016, but other than moving a couple hard-hit balls to the medium-hit category, he looked pretty much like the guy we've seen the last few years. There was a slight uptick in the swinging strike rate (from 10 to 12%), but the fastball velocity continued its slow trend downward. What else do you expect from a guy heading into his age-32 season? The righty elected free agency after his one-year deal. He'll certainly be able to find work with fielding independent metrics hovering around 4.00, but don't expect a team to eye him for high-leverage situations, making him an unappealing fantasy option outside of very deep single-league leagues.(Colin Zarzycki)

The Quick Opinion: Hernandez was pretty much just what we expected during his one year stint in Philly. While his strikeout rate ticked up a touch, there is little to indicate Hernandez can reclaim what he had five years ago making him an unappealing fantasy option.

If you would like to make a projection for this player, please Log In or Register.